A former employee of the Jackson County Water Authority in Brownstown was charged Friday, Mar. 20, in Jackson Circuit Court with stealing $160,142 from the water utility over a two-year period.
Stephanie K. Austin, 41, of the 1200 block of Hickory Hill Road in Seymour, was booked into Jackson County Jail at 3:17 p.m. Friday, Mar. 13, and faces three felony counts of theft.
According to Detective Jac Sanders of the Brownstown Police Department, he was contacted earlier this month by utility manager Larry McIntosh about thefts of money from the utility.
Auditors of the accounting firm London Witte & Company confirmed that $160,142.78 was missing from the utility’s bank account, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Austin was the sole utility employee responsible for making bank deposits, according to the charging affidavit.
The water utility’s security video shows Austin taking cash from customers as payment for water usage and not depositing it in the bank, according to the court document. “The video shows her leaving the building with the money in a bank bag and there was no receipt showing that she deposited it into the bank,” the detective wrote in the probable cause affidavit.
The video shows Austin would count the money from the cash register, using the posted total. She would then place the posting total and cash in the deposit bag, but never make out a bank deposit slip, according to the court document. After going to the bank, Austin would return to the utility office with an empty bag, the charging affidavit read.
Independent water utility auditors found that Austin allegedly stole $53,685.33 between Feb. 6, 2024 and Jan. 31, 2025; $50,933.54 from Feb. 1 through Sept. 2, 2025; and $55,523.91 from Sept. 3, 2025 through Feb. 25 of this year.
Austin began her employment at the water utility in February 2024: her last day was March 2, 2026, according to the court document.
Austin was released from jail at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17, after posting a $20,000 bond and awaits her initial court appearance.